Are Leaders Born Or Made?

by David Brookmire

Just about every day, we read in the news where a CEO has been terminated or "resigns" due to poor performance and a lack of confidence by the Board of Directors. The CEO role - unlike any others in the organisation - has a dramatic impact on the financial performance and morale of the organisation. When they fail, everyone seems to pay, including employees, shareholders, customers, and Board members. Ironically, some of these failed CEOs were superstars in their CEO roles at other companies. It begs the question: What makes or breaks a leader? Is leadership an intrinsic trait? Are some people just born leaders or does leadership require skills that must be continuously learned and nurtured?

Meg Whitman was an outstanding CEO at EBay from 1998 to 2008, helping guide the company from $4million to $8billion in revenues before stepping down. Unfortunately, her performance as HP's CEO has been very inconsistent, causing internal and external stakeholders to lose confidence in her leadership and ability to turn around the technology behemoth. Carol Bartz, formerly CEO of Yahoo before being asked to resign, had a very successful tenure as CEO of Autodesk. From 1992 to 2006, she guided Autodesk to become one of the leading providers of computer designed software. After only 18 months at Yahoo, however, she was removed as CEO amidst poor performance and lack of confidence by investors and the Board of Directors. How is it that leaders shine in one situation and fail in another?

The Center for Creative Leadership, a research firm, surveyed top leaders globally and found that the majority (52.4%) believed leaders were made, believing that leadership is more than just "genetics". A minority (19.1%) believed that leaders were simply born that way. The remaining 28.5% believed leadership to be a combination of these factors - that leaders may have some intrinsic leadership skills (outgoing, intelligent and confident) but have also worked hard to gain valuable experience, perspective and knowledge to maximise their successes.

Leaders are delusional if they think they no longer need any development or coaching once they reach the C-suite. When leaders get complacent - feeling too comfortable in the top job - their successes decline rapidly. Conversely, when leaders depend on trusted advisors, executive coaches and other senior-level minds for counsel and honest feedback, they tend to be more in touch with the realities of their positions, teams and constituents.

This explains why the field of leadership development has grown to the billion dollar market it is today. In the past, C-level executives had limited opportunities for personal or professional growth. Hiring an executive coach was seen as a dirty little secret, as executives didn't want to show any kinks in their armour. But today, hiring executive coaches no longer carries a "stigma".

The wisest leaders understand that the business environment has changed, and executives have the added stressors of global issues to manage, ever-evolving technologies, a tremendously competitive marketplace, and being "on call" 24/7. They recognise that their senior position creates isolation - their team might be reluctant to provide honest, objective feedback that's necessary to help their leaders evolve.

CEOs that work with executive coaches are often regarded as eager to learn, ready to accept honest feedback and willing to be held accountable for their actions - all qualities of a leader who will stay on top. One of the most revealing looks into the use of executive coaches was an article that discussed Michael Dell and his executive coaching.

Faced with the first major technology downfall in 2001, Michael wanted to ensure he and his leadership team worked more cohesively, and he wanted to change the culture at Dell. He felt that change started with him, so he asked for a 360 degree survey and got some tough feedback about how his style put people off and was not inspirational. He made a commitment to change his style to be more appealing and inspirational. Today, Dell still uses assessments for most of their managers, providing annual feedback for their development.

Since then, several CEOs have publicly stated the value of executive coaching during their careers.

Successful CEOs start with a set of leadership traits that have been associated with strong leaders, such as ambition, drive, emotional stability, emotional intelligence, and extraverted personalities that can rally support and action. However, just possessing these traits doesn't mean you'll be a great leader. Leaders must also learn from experience. To prepare for the requirements of their challenging roles, they should develop the prerequisite competencies - shaping strategy, business acumen, seasoned judgment, powerful communications, operational excellence, and the ability to inspire others - which is learned by doing.

There are proven methods that enable organisations to develop their leaders, which include, from most to least effective:

• Moved into new and challenging roles
  
• Given temporary assignments
  
• Implemented projects and taskforces
  
• Received 360 feedback and coaching
  
• Participated in classroom training

Combine the best practices to help your company successfully develop your next generation of leaders: 

Source:ceoonline.com